It earned seven Campaign Streamers in World War I flying the French Salmson 2A2 aircraft as a Corps Observation squadron.

The squadron again flew tactical reconnaissance missions in France and Northern Europe during World War II as part of Ninth Air Force.

Aircrews of the 12th have flown over 40 different aircraft since its beginnings in 1917, fought in more than 25 major campaigns, operated from over 60 stations, and received more than 20 unit citations.

Arriving at Mitchell Field, New York in June 1919, most squadron members were separated from the Air Service and returned to civilian life.

A small cadre of members remained on duty, and on 8 October, Lt Alexander Pearson in a 12th Squadron De Havilland DH-4 took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island in the first transcontinental air race, a round trip to Crissy Field, San Francisco, California, which he won with a flying time of 48 hours, 37 minutes, and 16 seconds, or an average speed of 111.3 mph.

Later that month, a terse telegram described one incident of this service: Lts G. L. Usher and L. M. Wolfe, "lost direction on patrol.

[3] In February 1921, the same Lt Pearson and the 12th were again involved in a record-setting attempt, this time a planned transcontinental flight with only two stops to be completed in less than 24 hours.

[3] In June, the Border Patrol operation ended, with all airfields except Biggs Field being closed and most units returning to their permanent stations.

[3] In 1934, the 12th took part when the Army was given responsibility for flying the mail after President Franklin Roosevelt cancelled all civilian contracts because of alleged rate-fixing by the airlines.

On 1 June 1937, the 12th Observation Squadron left Texas to operate with the 7th Cavalry Brigade, the mechanized forerunner of the First Armored Division, at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

After those maneuvers, the 12th returned to the recently completed Godman Field, where the unit supplied a cadre to organize the Headquarters Squadron of the 73d Observation Group.

On that day it left by train for Fort Dix, where it sailed aboard the Dutch Troop Ship Marnix van St. Aldegonde on 26 September, arriving at Gurock on 7 October to join the rest of the squadron at Membury.

The 12th shared a Distinguished Unit Citation with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group for the "most extensive low altitude oblique photographic assignment ever undertaken over enemy territory."

However, about 5 July 1944, the squadron moved with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group to ALG A-9 Le Molay-Littry – the first of five airfields from which it would operate in France – and began supporting the United States First Army, which was massing for a breakthrough near Saint-Lô.

The pilots also spotted and photographed areas the Germans were strengthening and reconnoitered marshalling yards to see if reinforcements were being sent in from other parts of Germany.

During November and December, missions were flown over the Ruhr and Rhine valleys and over such cities as Frankfurt, Mannheim, Wiesbaden, Koblenz, and Ludwigshafen, many of which were heavily defended.

Then the 12th moved south to Munich, Regensburg, and Nuremberg, and it finished the month by making long flights (with wing tanks) into Austria and Czechoslovakia, reconnoitering Prague, Pilsen, Linz, and Vienna.

Although hostilities in general ceased in Europe on 7 May 1945, the 12th Squadron continued to fly photographic missions in support of Allied forces in Czechoslovakia, where the fighting did not stop until 10 May.

It remained at Fürth Airfield, Germany, assigned to the 10th Reconnaissance Group of the XII Tactical Air Command.

The squadron, receiving FP-80 Shooting Star aircraft, claimed to be the first unit in the Air Force to use jet-photo equipment.

Extensive aerial photography was performed by the 12th, including maps and layouts for the United States Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, and many other agencies.

On 25 February, eight months after the Korean War started, it was activated at Komaki Air Base, Japan, and assigned to the 67th Group once more.

On 15 March 1951, the unit moved to Taegu Air Base (K-2), South Korea, where the operations section had been located since the first part of the month.

The primary mission of the squadron during the Korean War was to provide the night reconnaissance capability for the wing, both photographic and visual.

[3] Following the end of the Korean War, the 12th TRS continued to operate from Kimpo until 8 November 1954, when it moved to Itami Air Base, Japan.

[3] On 14 August 1956, the squadron moved from Itami to Yokota Air Base, which could accommodate the twin jet Douglas RB-66B Destroyers with which the 12th was soon to be equipped.

In April 1958, two of the 12th's aircraft deployed to Bangkok, Thailand, to fly reconnaissance missions for a Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) exercise, and in the following June its RB-66s took part in a joint Navy-Air Force exercise, providing navigational aid and escort for F-100Ds attacking the naval task force.

[3] Reactivated at Beale Air Force Base, California in 2001 operating RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aerial reconnaissance aircraft after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In March 2013, the squadron was reassigned to the reactivated 69th Reconnaissance Group as part of the consolidation of the USAF Global Hawk mission.

Explanatory notes Footnotes This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency